Package for fragile articles



March 15, 1966 D. WEINSTEIN PACKAGE FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Feb. 1, 1965 INVENTOR DAVID WEINSTEIN ATTORNEY March 15, 1966 D.WEINSTEIN PACKAGE FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1,1965 FIG. 6.

FIG. 7.

INVENTOR DAVID WEINSTE N ATTORNEY IIIIII I United States Patent3,240,331 PACKAGE FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES David Weinstein, Baltimore, Md.,assignor to Maryland Baking C0., Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation ofMaryland Filed Feb. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 429,470 4 Claims. (Cl. 20665) Thisinvention relates to packaging and it is more particularly concernedwith the packaging of fragile articles.

Among the objects of the invention are the provision of means forpackaging fnagile articles (1) to minimize breakage, particularly underconditions of handling and transportation (2) especially adapted to icecream cones (3) which is relatively inexpensive, convenient to use, andwhich can be used with conventional boxes, and

(4) whereby the articles packaged are maintained in a suspended positionrelative to a container to attenuate impact forces received by thecontainer under conditions of storage and transportation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view partly in elevation of an embodimentof the invention in the open position.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view along the line 22 of FIG. 1, butwith the embodiment in closed position.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view along the line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view of the upper portion of FIG. 2 with additional parts insection to illustrate the closure flaps in operative position.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a variation of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view along the line 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view along the line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view along the line 9-9 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the inner wrapper of afurther variation of the invention.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5 comprises a conventionalcardboard box 11 having a front panel 12, a rear panel 13, and sidepanels 14 and 15. The box also has the conventional fiaps securedtogether forming a closed bottom panel 16 and corresponding fiaps 17,18, 19, and 20 forming a top panel which can be opened and closed.

On the interior of the box, there is disposed one or more elongatedtubular bags 21 of a heat fusible film sheet material, such as theconventional polyvinyl chloride sheets or other suitable equivalents.These bags 21 are each disposed in the box, the bottom thereof beingclosed by heat sealing along lines 22 and 23 that form a pocket 24 ofthe general shape of the article to be carried. For ice cream cones forexample, the lines 22 and 23 converge downwardly as a V to conform tothe shape of a cone and thereby support the lowermost cone 25 of a stackof cones 26 along a substantial area. In ordinary packages, the stack ofcones is supported at the point or apex 27 of the bottommost cone of thestack which is relatively fragile. Thus supported, the fragile point issubjected to considerable pressure and impact forces.

Along the bottom of the bag, a transverse sealing line 28 may beprovided as an added safety measure to insure against opening of thepocket.

Each bag 21 is glued or otherwise secured to the box "ice panels 12 and13, such as along glue lines 29 and 30, respectively, one line being atthe top part of one panel and the other at the bottom part of the otherpanel. This staggered arrangement tends to prevent the bags frombecoming unglued under forces that distort the box out of its normalshape.

The upper ends 31 of the bags extend above the stack of cones and areeach folded down into the respective uppermost cone before the flaps 17,18, 19 and 20 are closed. See FIGS. 2 and 5.

The embodiment of FIGS. 6 to 9 is substantially the same as theembodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5, differing therefrom in that the bags areformed of a single continuous sheet of material and are connected by aweb poriton 32. This web portion is glued to one of the box panels atthe top along an area 33, while fiaps on the opposite sides of the bagsare secured to the opposite panel along lines 34 and 35, respectively,along the bottom.

Instead of forming the pockets with continuous sealing lines 22 and 23,an alternative variation comprises the use of spaced lines 36 as shownin FIG. 10. These lines slope downwardly and inwardly termining atpoints 37 which define the locus of a pocket for the reception of acone. By the lines being sloped in this way, the positioning of thecones in the pocket is facilitated. These separate lines also minimizeopening of the pocket by a run.

I claim:

1. A package comprising a relatively stiif box having panels forming anenclosure for the contents, a bag within the box of a flexible sheetmaterial said bag having flaps extended therefrom on opposite sides,said flaps being each secured directly to an adjacent panel of the boxto support the bag in suspended relation, said flaps being secured tothe panels by glue along lines vertically offset on opposite sides ofthe box.

2. A package as defined by claim 1 in which a pair of bags are providedwithin a single box in side by side relation, said bags being connectedby a web of sheet material, said web being glued to an adjacent panel ofthe box along a substantial area.

3. A package for ice cream cones comprising a relatively stiif boxhaving panels forming an enclosure, a bag within the box of a flexibleheat scalable sheet material, means securing the bag directly to the boxpanels in suspended relation. said bag being formed by heatsealingportions of the sheet material together along downwardly convergentlines forming a pocket to receive and hold a stack of nested ice creamcones.

4. A package 'as defined by claim 3 in which the pocket is formed byheat sealing along a plurality of spaced diagonal lines extendingdownwardly and inwardly to points defining the locus of a V-shapedpocket.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 106,65110/1937 Colognori et a1.

2,089,674 8/ 1937 Turnbull. 2,691,441 10/1954 Gettelman 99180 X2,735,543 2/1956 Trow 20646 2,759,654 8/1956 Vander Lugt 20646 2,956,67210/ 1960 Kirkpatrick 20646 3,039,881 6/1962 Shapiro 99180 FOREIGNPATENTS 425,105 3/1935 Great Britain. 748,656 5/ 1956 Great Britain.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

J. M. CASKIE, Assistant Examiner.

1. A PACKAGE COMPRISING A RELATIVELY STIFF BOX HAVING PANELS FORMING ANENCLOSURE FOR THE CONTENTS, A BAG WITHIN THE BOX OF A FLEXIBLE SHEETMATERIAL SAID BAG HAVING FLAPS EXTENDED THEREFROM ON OPPOSITE SIDES,SAID FLAPS BEING EACH SECURED DIRECTLY TO AN ADJACENT PANEL OF THE BOXTO SUPPORT THE BAG IN SUSPENDED RELATION, SAID FLAPS BEING SECURED TOTHE PANELS BY GLUE ALONG LINES VERTICALLY OFFSET ON OPPOSITE SIDES OFTHE BOX.